Retention > Hype

One way to guarantee that no one will continue to use your product or service is to encourage them to give you a try before you’re ready.

Consider the case of the latest Valley-funded software startup.

It might take you less than five minutes to spot their ads at your local metro, but it might take you a fortnight for their product to actually do what it says it will do.

Similarly, it doesn’t make much sense to do a crowdfund campaign if you don’t have the systems and planning and people in place to ensure that whatever your patron’s are funding actually arrives at their door.

Or, finally, consider the new restaurant in town. It’s relatively easy to get people to come to your restaurant once the reviews are in and it’s busy. But convincing them to come back after a bad experience—a long wait, a bad meal—is comparatively tough.

Alas. There are many good ways to retain your customers once you have them. But letting them down isn’t one of them.